Made it to the Mainland!

These views never get old.

The Kiwi and Aussie surfing couples respectively. Have a great trip guys!

Dowtown La Paz.

George, you rock! Thanks for showing me around Mazatlan.

Myself, Janine, Suzy and Mark. Thanks so much for your kindness, it was truly appreciated.

Going for a dip at sunrise.

Another beach to myself!

I could handle living here =)

Clever marketing!

Another beach, all to myself.

La Paz to Mazatlan

Day: 79

Miles: 0

Total Mileage: 4,132

Money Spent since last update: daily expenses: $48, Ferry Ticket: $98, Spare tubes, new tube of chapstick, sunscreen, fuel for the stove: $20

(A note on my budget: I am eating for about $10 to $12 a day now, which is good. Incidentals keep my over budget, but I have noticed cheaper food on the mainland, 40 cent tacos!, and in time i will come back to being on budget. I am confident within a few weeks I will be right back on track.)

I have been making tracks in a big way as I race the clock to make it to Mexico City to meet up with my friend Mike. He flies in from New Zealand on the first of June, and considering the fact that he only has about a month to ride, I want to get there as soon as possible. In order to get there by the 3rd or 4th as we agreed, I have to make some compromises, but I do not mind. The benefits of being able to ride with a good friend, I feel, far outweigh the negatives.

I have been riding hard, putting down about 160 kilometers a day (roughly 100 miles) which is a tough thing to do under ideal conditions. Riding in the rough and hilly Baja terrain on the rediculously narrow Mexico Highway 1 makes it even more of a challenge. I had my closest call with traffic while riding two days ago. A bus came within about three inches of my handle bar as it passed me coming over a hill. I dang near had a heart attack. The problem was, there was traffic coming from the other direction so the bus driver could not make room for me, and i had a gaurd rail pinning me on the road. It was not an enjoyable experiance, to say the least.

I am still alive and kick however, and barely made it to La Paz on time to catch the ferry to Mazatlan yesterday. I had to make that ferry as it only goes three times a week, and if i had missed it Monday, I would have had to wait until Wednesday to catch the next one. In order to make that deadline, I had to cheat a little bit though. I had to get a ride in a truck for about 50 miles.

I did not want to do it, but I really had no choice. If i had not taken that ride I would have missed the ferry and my friend would have been waiting two extra days by himself in Mexico City because I was too inflexible to take a ride that was offered to me clear out of the blue. I feel that that would have been fairly selfish of me to do.

I want to thank Mark, Suzie and Tia Janine for giving me the ride. You all were so incredible nice and hospitable! It was impeccable timing too, as they picked me up as I was buying some water literally thinking to myself at the exact moment they pulled up that i was never going to make it to la paz on time.

I had bumped into Mark, Suzie and Janine a few days prior outside of a market. We had started chatting and they had given me some great advice on traveling through Baja. Mark and Suzie are American farmers who live and opperate out of Baja. It was pure chance that they had passed me on Saturday as they were on their way to take a little vacation with their friend Janine. When they pulled up next to me and offered to give me a lift without me saying anything about my predicament at all, it felt like serendipity, like the universe was offering me a helping hand when i needed it. So I took their help and am glad i did. I was even lucky enough to get treated to lunch and Suzie insisted i take a few bucks as i had run low on cash and was not near an ATM. There hospitality was truly incredible and i feel very lucky to have ran into them. Thanks so much!

That night I slept on the beach again, and again, I had the entire place to myself! It was crazy and fantastic. I have been sleeping on the most picturesque beaches i have ever seen and have been the only guy there! It is wonderful, i feel like i have been living in a corona commercial. The only thing that could have made it more enjoyable would have been a special someone to share the moment with.

I made it to La Paz on time, but only just. The tire on my trailer had gone flat about 70 kilometers outside town in the middle of nowhere and I thought I was well and truly up the creek. I had used up my last spare tube earlier in the trip and when i pulled out the tube to use my last patch, i saw that it had three punctures in it! Rats! However, it was a slow leak, and luckily the patch slowed the loss of air to the point where I could ride about 10 kilometers and then stop, pump it up again, and keep going. So I was able to limp into town Monday morning.

I rode through La Paz, which is a beautiful place. Right on the water and it seems like a very lively, fun place that from what I have been told, lacks the tourist trap feel of Cabo. The ferry terminal was about 17 kilometers outside of town and there I met Mark and Kels, as Aussie couple on a surfing trip that will take them through America, Mexico, Europe and South East Asia. They were great people and they gave me a ride back into town so we could grab some food for the upcoming 18 hour ferry ride.

On the ferry we met another couple, some Kiwis (New Zealanders) who were also on a surfing trip through Mexico. Caleb and Julie were bussing it through Mexico carrying three surfboards and a skim board; mad! They also were incredibly nice people and we all hung out on the ferry drinking a few beers and passing the time.

That is one of my favorite things about traveling. The friendships you make with total strangers. I have friends from prior trips years ago that i met only breifly under similar circumstances and still keep in touch with today. I plan on seeing some of them on this trip! When you meet someone in a foreign place that you can communicate with and that is also out on a journey of their own, you have an instant and strong bond of friendship that cuts through all pretences and inhibitions you would have in befriending someone new back home. I have done things and have had favors done for me by people I just met that would astound most non travelers. Both the Aussies and the Kiwis offered to put me up at their places when I get to their neck of the woods and i know they mean it, just as i was sincere in offering to let them stay with me if the opportunity ever comes up when i settle back down.....eventually!

At any rate, I am in Mazatlan and this is a cool place, no questions. You can tell right away if you will like a place and i could feel it instantly. This is a fun place with a ton of character. It is not so touristy as it is where Mexicans go to vacation more so than Gringos. The people here are incredible too, within minutes of getting off of the ferry a super guy Named Gorge rode up to me and upon seeing me studying my map, offered to help me out. When I told him i was looking for a bicycle shop he offered to guide me there (he was also riding a bike). When the first one was no open (he told me to expect that, things open here when they open, not necessarily when the sign says they will open) he took me to another an helped me get some spare tubes. Then he took me to the phgarmacy so i could get some fuel for my stove (no more cold beans and tortillas three meals a day, yes!) and then to the Internet cafe! Truly a kind man and I am glad we met and had a chance to practice our languages together.

Well, this is a long one, so I will cut it short here. I am about to head out to Mexico DF, and the next 8 days would be some very challenging riding. I have to go over two mountain ranges to get to the city, up to 10K feet twice! Ouch, but i am in great shape now, so i know i can do it.

Until next time!